Still at the Inn and tried to make something photogenic. FF chicken strips, and broccoli in the wave. Avocado on the side and honey mustard squoozed over all. Subpar in the extreme.
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Looking forward to hearing from our 18th Century time traveler…
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Brussels Sprouts with Sun-Dried Tomato and Almond Pesto from “Six Seasons of Pasta” by Joshua McFadden - outstanding flavors in this dish. For the pesto you first slowly cook garlic cloves and red pepper flakes in olive oil until they start to brown. Once the oil is cooled down you mix it in the food processor with dried tomatoes, toasted almonds and parmigiano cheese.
For the dish you cook more garlic and pancetta, add quartered brussels sprouts and cook until browned.Add pesto with some pasta water before adding the fettuccine with some more pasta water. Finish with a mix of pecorino and parmigiano reggiano until emulsified
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Pizza Friday here! Roberta’s dough recipe, one pie with spinach and some nduja I got in a butcher box recently and threw in the freezer without dividing (luckily it shaved off easily with a vegetable peeler!) And the other with some leftover lamb kibbe I also dug out of the freezer. Otherwise both pies with standard tomato sauce, mozz and parm.
Thrown together hastily as we rushed to get out to a kid’s swim meet and partially consumed standing on the sidewalk outside the school. Definitely a success!
Nduja is a new to me ingredient, but some of you rave about it so I was excited to wind up with some. I used it sparingly but would use more next time. The spinach pie baked on a stone, kibbe pie on a steel. The stone is better but we were in a rush!
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Tomato egg drop soup and dumplings. The recipe called for one egg but I used 2 because I had 2 left.
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My apologies, dear friends, as the magic connections that allow me to communicate across time were not cooperating and I was unable to send my nightly missive.
Yesterday proved to be as miserable as the day before had been pleasant. A persistent rain began before dawn, with waves of heavy showers until late in the day, making it difficult for the competitors to shoot or throw their axes and knives at the targets.
Happily it cleared by evening and we were all able to gather, with each camp contributing an hors d’ouvres. We could not but laugh that most had brought meatballs cooked in sauce…but amazed that no two sauces were alike, so the duplication of meat was scarcely noticed.
A pirate invasion followed the meal, with dice games and gallons of fine rum punch concocted by our tavern mistress.
This morning is foggy and chill, so the morning fires are welcome until the sun comes out to chase the damp.Processing: 20260228_084048.jpg…
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Looks to me like you’re doing the best you can given the circumstances.
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Steak looks perfect. That whole meal speaks to me.
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No cooking again last night at casa lingua. Friends of ours, a Lebanese/Indian couple, hosted a big dinner party after a long hiatus — both have family in their home countries, including ailing/deteriorating parents, so they’d been traveling a lot the last few months. It was really nice reconnecting with them and so many other peeps after all this time, and the food was lovely as usual, with many vegetarian and vegan options to choose from.
There’s always a few appetizers sitting around to nosh on before the big event, such as a fabulous muhammara and little canapés with sun-dried tomato pesto and tapenade.
There was falafel with hummus,
mujadara for our vegan friends,
dolmadakia, a wonderful green bean salad,
a chickpea dish I didn’t bother with (IYKYK 
),
a scrumptious baba ganoush brought by a South African guest,
baked kibbeh,
spinach & sumac pastry similar to spanakopita,
a mixed salad with peas (!) in a zingy lemon vinaigrette,
fantastic chicken shwarma over rice,
and a dessert table bursting with cakes and cookies,
of which I had a smol selection. LURVED the sesame cookies!
Despite festivities starting on the earlier side we didn’t get home until midnight — too many good conversations to be had, especially with the South African/Italian couple who plan to retire in Sicily 
Another lovely evening with good friends 
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Seared pork chop dry brined in citrus finishing salt, pear fried in fake butter with rosemary, and an arugula salad with a little blue cheese, pecans, roasted sweet potato, cucumber, grape, and apple and some leftover quinoa-cauli-edamame blend. Dressed with maple-shallot-Dijon Sherry vinaigrette. Salad loosely based on this and a recipe from Sheet Pan Suppers Meatless: 100 Surprising Vegetarian Meals Straight from the Oven.
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I personally would start at the dessert table and work my way backwards 
Looks like you had a fabulous meal and guests of a diverse background.
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This couple was instrumental in introducing us to a very international crowd a few years into our moving here. Before that, we mostly hung out with grad students 
It made a big difference & really expanded our circle of friends. You know how difficult it is to make new friends later in life. These two are a social fixture & a true blessing for our community, as they love introducing new people to one another, especially folks not from this country.
Doesn’t hurt that the food is always bomb
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Stopped in Chinatown a second time today. Picked up some Cha Siu and Siu Yuk (roast pork).
More Fun from the slab picked up this morning. Pork Spareribs and Soft Bone Bamboo Shoot soup the wife had cheffed up a couple of days ago. Some Choy Sum.
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That is a pretty plate.
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Thanks… I found two of them at Goodwill. I use them from time to time, when the meal looks a little too “beige” 
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I wanna be part of you local friends dinner group. What a lovely spread!
An easy, garlicky meal tonight.
Cheese tortellini with roasted broccoli and sautéed sweet Italian sausage. Sauce was a combo of crushed tomatoes I pulled from the freezer, about 1/3 of a bottle of Mutti Passata sauce, Parm-Reg, some red wine, and roasted garlic and Aleppo pepper for a bit of a bite.
Everything baked at 350° with grated mozzarella on top, with garlic bread alongside.
Wine.
And with the amount of garlic I’ve just eaten, I’m safe from vampires tonight. 
And maybe tomorrow as well.
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